" we're already wasting trillions of dollars on dead-end projects.

NASA should be put in mothballs for a while. if we don't take care of the planet we live on, it'll swallow us up long before any technology is developed to allow us to live on some other rock. "

" we're already wasting trillions of dollars on dead-end projects.


And Nasa isn't one of them, I personally believe Nasa should get the kind of funding they received in the 60's and 70's, Nasa has been responsible for some of the greatest scientific and medical, and home discoveries in the 20th and 21st centuries and should continuously be funded to do so. "

" Sputnik was born the same year I was, I do remember Alan Shepards flight, barely, and on July 20th, 1969 I told my mom to wake me up to watch Neil Armstrong walk on the moon, even though I had a horrible migraine headache at the time. I have had the wonderful experience to talk to 2 Apollo Astonauts in my life, Jim Erwin and Jim Lovell, and a couple of others over the years. There is no way those missions were fabricated. "

" Perhaps it has escaped Harry's notice that the borrow-and-spend Republicans he applauds have mired this nation into a $9 TRILLION DEBT, and we are fast sinking out of sight. Our days of space missions are over, like a lot of other things. Harry can thank his chimpanzee pal for that. "

" LOL Leave it to Question... at any rate...

The space program should absolutely NOT go away. As was pointed out very well by Medic, many of the breakthroughs we enjoy today from medical technology to Tang would not be around if not for the research by NASA and it's predecessor. This country is already on the cusp of being overtaken as a world leader in innovation and all of you head-in-the-sand types would only be pushing us closer to the precipice if you followed through on your short-sighted actions of canceling programs such as NASA.

A price can't be put on what NASA gave us in the 60's and could give us today if given the opportunity. Humankind's need to explore combined with the sweeping vision of the old NASA led this country, and indeed the world, to unite under the banner of doing great things. That could be done again, but unfortunately it probably won't.

Today we have too many people who lack the broad vision and have taken too many classes in risk-aversion and CYA. These kinds of folks will likely never let us follow the natural path of humans; exploration. "

" Who would have ever thought this country would be in hock to the Chinese Communists? Just a few years ago we had a budget surplus. Squandering that surplus had absolutely nothing to do with fighting terror, because Iraq had nothing to do with the war on terror, despite all the lies from this administration. Bush will have some legacy!

Osama Ben Laden was the mastermind of 9/11, not Saddam Hussein. Anyone remember OBL? He's the one that Bush said he didn't really care about.

After putting our children and grandchildren into debt for years to come, can we really afford to put more money into the space program?

Or do we send Bush to China with his hat in his hand begging for more loans? "

" Valid points HP, but I don't agree that sacrificing the great good of tomorrow for immediate results today is the way to go. We spend BILLIONS every year on earmarks that are totally unnecessary. There are other ways to reign in spending without cutting research & development. "

" Beyond the advancements in science and space flight, the Apollo Moon missions blew open the door for new and practical inventions that revolutionized how we live, work and play. With one small step, American technology took a giant leap forward and changed our everyday lives.


Kidney dialysis machines were developed as a result of a NASA developed chemical process that could remove toxic waste from used dialysis fluid.

As a medical CAT scanner searches the human body for tumors or other abnormalities, the industrial version, or advanced computed tomography inspection system, finds imperfections in aerospace structures and components, such as castings, rocket motors and nozzles.

A cardiovascular conditioner developed for astronauts in space led to the development of a physical therapy and athletic development machine used by football teams, sports clinics and medical rehabilitation centers.

Insulation barriers made of aluminum foil laid over a core of propylene or mylar, which protected astronauts and their spacecraft's delicate instruments from radiation, is used to protect cars and trucks and dampen engine and exhaust noise

Water purification technology used on the Apollo spacecraft is now employed in several spinoff applications to kill bacteria, viruses and algae in community water supply systems and cooling towers. Filters mounted on faucets can reduce lead in water supplies.

Digital signal-processing techniques, originally developed to enhance pictures of the Moon for the Apollo Program, are an indispensable part of Computer-Aided Tomography (CAT) scan & Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technologies used today worldwide.

Vacuum metallizing techniques led to an extensive line of commercial products, from insulated outer garments to packaging for foods & from reflective blankets to photographic reflectors.

Cordless power tools & appliances are one of the most successful commercial spin-offs of space-based technology.

Cool suits, which kept Apollo astronauts comfortable during moon walks, are today worn by race car drivers, hazardous area workers, & people with specific health problems

Shut down NASA, I think not. "

" The idea that we should fund trillion-dollar space projects in order to accidentally come up with ancillary technological developments is ridiculous. If we had the money to spend, we should DIRECTLY fund research on alternative energy sources, the lack of which is contributing to the imminent threat of economic collapse in this country. But we don't have the money - Bush has already buried this nation in debt.
Tell you what - take the $3 BILLION A WEEK Bush spends in Iraq and give it to NASA. Better that we throw it into space than that we use it to occupy Iraq and subjugate the Iraqi people. "

" The US space program is one of the pinnacle achievements of mankind. As a percentage of GDP, what we spend on the space program is a drop in the bucket. Medic57's comments were spot on. Scrapping the space program would be a huge mistake. "

" medic57 wrote on May 30, 2008 4:20 PM:
" Sputnik was born the same year I was, I do remember Alan Shepards flight, barely, and on July 20th, 1969 I told my mom to wake me up to watch Neil Armstrong walk on the moon, even though I had a horrible migraine headache at the time. I have had the wonderful experience to talk to 2 Apollo Astonauts in my life, Jim Erwin and Jim Lovell, and a couple of others over the years. There is no way those missions were fabricated. "

that's all fine and good. i also grew up looking at the astronauts as my heros....but the fact of the matter is...mars will be there when we get around to it. we need to spend money to reclaim our country and any dignity we have left. "

" Putting a man on Mars, would really improve my standard of living, so much! "

" mars or us???????

WASHINGTON: Despite support from all three presidential candidates, an effort to push through climate change legislation this year is putting its supporters on the spot, essentially forcing them to come out in favor of higher energy costs at a time when American consumers are already facing record fuel prices.

While the three candidates are on record as favoring legislative action on global warming, the administration of President George W. Bush opposes a far-reaching bill that is to be debated in the Senate this week.

Sponsors of the measure say the nation must take immediate action to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and cut carbon emissions, but many senators in both parties see the legislation as a hugely expensive long-term plan that will do little to solve today's problems with energy supplies and prices.

The debate will force senators to take a stand on some of the most difficult, expensive and potentially life-altering questions that will face the world in coming decades. Proponents say the nation cannot afford to wait until fuel prices fall to begin to deal with these problems. Opponents argue that the bill would direct the largest changes in the American economy since the 1930s and should not be rushed through Congress without painstaking debate. "

" You can't put a price on achievement or funding the dreams of another generation. You want to cut spending and "reclaim our country", then reign in your congressmen that spend literally 1000 times more than the NASA budget on things like bridges to nowhere.

In the scheme of things, the NASA budget provides a good bang for the buck. "

" The Question Wrote -- The idea that we should fund trillion-dollar space projects in order to accidentally come up with ancillary technological developments is ridiculous.

These things weren't accidently discovered, they were the process of scientists looking for specific answers to specific problems and would have taken much longer to discover and cost 10 times as much if left to the private sector. "

" You people have , why bother,,,,, "

" "These things weren't accidently discovered, they were the process of scientists looking for specific answers to specific problems and would have taken much longer to discover and cost 10 times as much if left to the private sector."
--------
And they'd be discovered that much faster if the research were funded directly instead of being sent to Mars first. You could also cite a bunch of happy results if you just dumped a hundred billion dollars in the street. The justifications for spending hundreds of billions to go to Mars can only be inspirational, never practical, so give it up. "

" Most of the worlds best ideas have come from people that were inspired and passionate about something, not practical. "

" "Perhaps it has escaped Harry's notice that the borrow-and-spend Republicans he applauds have mired this nation into a $9 TRILLION DEBT"

Might I add that the vote to allow Bush to invade Iraq in the US Senate was 77 to 23 in favor. Hardly a party line vote. Add to that fact that the Democrats control the Senate and the House and could stop the war anytime they wanted to simply by not providings the funds needed to continue. They just don't want to. "

" From what we now know, Bush wasn't exactly upfront with the information he shared with the Senate. We will never know how the Senate would have voted if they had been given the complete information that the White House was aware of, but decided to only release the information that helped make the Cheney/Rumsfeld/Wolfowitz case for justifying the war. "

" It doesn't alter the fact that Congress could stop the war if they wanted to. They just don't want to. "

" medic57 wrote on Jun 3, 2008 10:58 AM:
" Most of the worlds best ideas have come from people that were inspired and passionate about something, not practical. "

but when we need about 2000 new bridges constructed yesterday, VA benefits, healthcare for children, feeding the hungry....Mars will be there when we get around to it. "

" Amen, fb! "

" And if we don't go to Mars, none of things will get done any faster. "

" " And if we don't go to Mars, none of things will get done any faster. "
------
That's ridiculous. Of course they will, if we spend the hundreds of billions you want to throw at Mars on them. "

" That's ridiculous. Of course they will, if we spend the hundreds of billions you want to throw at Mars on them. "


But we won't do that, we never have. "

" The space program is all nice and good, but I would think that takeing care of issues here on our oun planet would take priority. "

" Man on Mars? MAN ON MARS?!?!? This country is going to heck in a handbag and someone is concerned about putting a man on MARS? For goodness sake . . . what the heck is a man on freaking MARS going to do to help this country out of the mess we're in?

I have watched every space project from the Russian monkey to Yuri Gagarin to Alan Shepherd to John Glenn to on and on and on and while it's very interesting and even awe inspiring, I can't think of one thing the space program has done for the American society except give us Tang!

Billions for a man on Mars. Somebody's out of their mind!

But that's just my opinion . . . . M@H "

" " That's ridiculous. Of course they will, if we spend the hundreds of billions you want to throw at Mars on them. "
But we won't do that, we never have. "
-------
That is still no reason to throw away hundreds of billions we don't have.
This nation is $9 TRILLION IN DEBT and COUNTING. thanks to that warmongering ape in the White House. That is already driving the devaluation of U.S. currency which is forcing up food and gas prices and wiping out the value of Americans' incomes and savings. And you would like to add more trillions to that total for the sake of some space vanity and just in case we accidentally trip over scientific discoveries we're not looking for. Great idea. "

" medic57 wrote on Jun 3, 2008 5:56 PM:
" And if we don't go to Mars, none of things will get done any faster. "

these things cost money....a few billion saved on a mars mission can pay for a lot of bridges that need replaced. "

" I can't think of one thing the space program has done for the American society except give us Tang!

See the 8thpost down from the top. By the way, Tang was NOT invented by NASA. It was invented by General Foos in 1959. NASA, just made it popular. "

" medic57: We didn't get most of these things as a result of the space program, but as a by product of the space program.

As far as NASA inventing Tang - okay, I stand corrected. NASA didn't invent it. "

" Is General Foos in the Chinese army? "

" Harry: Are you implying that it was the Chinese Army that made Tang what it is today and not NASA? That would explain Tang being a Communist plot to kill all of the capitalist dogs! "

" Tang -- now there's an achievement. Couldn't we accomplish medical breakthroughs -- perhaps more cost-effectively, too -- by directly funding medical research instead of spending trillions on a manned mission to Mars? I admire NASA, it's astronauts, and progess, but I think we have to prioritize our spending. We have millions of Americans on the brink of being homeless, jobless, unable to pay for food and medicine. This doesn't seem like the time to fund a trip to Mars.

On a side note, M@H, hadn't seen you posting for awhile. Good to see you back! "

" Thank you, tammer65. I appreciate your kind words. I just needed a little break for awhile. We got pretty intense there for a few weeks and I had to just take a break.

I'll likely throw my two cents in here every now and then for awhile then take another break. "

" tammer65

Once again, NASA did not invent Tang, General Foods did, and not for NASA. I also am one of those having a hard time paying for food and medicine and gasoline, and I still think NASA should be fully funded. "

" Yes, welcome back, Tooner. "

" Thanks, Q. I'll admit had you not recognized my return, I would have felt slighted.

I think we're on the same page here with the Man on Mars thing. What the heck are we doing throwing money at a Mars mission - regardless of all the great by-products we've come up with through the space program - when we are in the shape we're in.

I've always thought the first step to "if it ain't broke - don't fix it" is knowing when it's broke. It's broke! "

" I agree, Tooner. The achievements of the space program are one of the greatest landmarks in human history and a tribute to the human spirit of reason and inquiry.
But now is not the time. We are in bad, bad economic trouble, and I think you know exactly where I would place the blame for that, so I won't bother. "

" Actually folks, who invented Tang, why it was invented and for whom it was invented was not the point of my post!

My point was "We haven't benefitted directly from the space program except to have bragging rights. Let's stop throwing money into an account where there's no return on investment!"

These by-products (as good as they may be) are *not* a result of the space program, they are the result of research going *in* to the space program and could have been created or invented without the space program. "

" Mattooner at Heart wrote---My point was "We haven't benefitted directly from the space program except to have bragging rights. Let's stop throwing money into an account where there's no return on investment!"---

Are you kidding, I mentioned 9 discoveries that were attributed directly to the Space Program that have helped mankind enormously.

Question

If I recall right, The United States was in bad financial shape when NASA was formed in the 50's, just out of WWII, Korea and heading into Vietnam.

And these by-products were attributed directly to the space program. "

" medic57 wrote on Jun 5, 2008 1:32 PM:
"And these by-products were attributed directly to the space program. "

Exactly correct! They are by-products of and not a direct result of the space program. That's what I said. They are by-products. I'm not going to debate whether or not these by-products were are weren't valuable. They were. I give you that and I did prior to your response.

However! There is no way that I can prove these by-products WOULD have come about outside of the space program and you cannot prove that they WOULDN'T. I CAN state that they COULD have come about without the space program, but you CANNOT prove they COULDN'T have come about the same way. So let's quit going back and forth over some trivial point about by-products. They're valuable. You win! But they were still by-products.

There was nothing brought back from the moon that benefitted society nor was there anything found in space that gave us any earth-shattering results. Let's quit throwing money at going out into space and invest it where we get DIRECT benefit - not INDIRECT benefit. "

" If I recall right, The United States was in bad financial shape when NASA was formed in the 50's, just out of WWII, Korea and heading into Vietnam.
-----
You recall incorrectly. With relatively high income tax rates, the U.S. deficit fell steadily from 1950 until 1981, when it shot up under Reagan. And of course, borrow-and-spend Bush has been a fiscal train wreck. The 1950s and 1960s were economic boom years for ordinary Americans. "

" We old folks need the suits keep us cool, warm, places to potty, we be all set and go anywhere then, and just empty the suits out like a dropseat.
With the BEER cans on helmet and long straw, (but I would want water) hey we could have it all. Put nursing home residents in the suits, no more soiled beds and linens, and they be cool or warm. I would travel farther then as not worrying WHERE'S THE BATHROOM? "

" Mama, how long has it been since you escaped from the home? "

" I don't think we need to put a man on Mars - it looks like Mama has already been there!
LOL!
;-)
Sorry, I was forced!
LOL! "

" Here's another reason not to throw trillions at NASA.
-------
Scientists working on Nasa's Phoenix lander are trying to work out why a soil sample dropped on to an instrument bay was not registered.
Images sent back from Mars clearly show the sample lying across a screen protecting the opening to a tiny oven.
But it seems the soil may have been too lumpy to pass through into the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer. "